Demand for biostimulants is expected to surpass US$ 4 billion in revenues, according to a new research report by Future Market Insights (FMI). The report titled, “Biostimulants Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015-2025” forecasts the demand for biostimulants to expand at a CAGR of nearly 11% through 2025.
Biostimulants are finding increasing application in the agriculture sector owing to their environmentally-friendly and organic nature. Rising food demand is putting pressure on land and focus has shifted to enhancing the yield per hectare.
“Governments around the world are speeding up efforts to boost agricultural production. Use of biostimulants is being encouraged to improve the overall output, and this is expected to fuel demand in the near future”, said the FMI analyst who compiled the report.
Although FMI expects the demand for biostimulants to expand at a robust pace during the forecast period 2015-2025, certain factors can impede growth. “Lack of standardisation and slow pace of innovation are the key restraining factors for the global biostimulants market.”
Biostimulants are used in foliar, seed, and soil; among these, use of biostimulants is highest in the foliar segment, accounting for nearly one-third market share in 2014. On the basis of crop type, use of biostimulants is predominant in row crops, and fruits and vegetables. Application of biostimulants in turf and ornamental is at a nascent stage currently. FMI forecasts the turf and ornamental segment to expand at a CAGR of over 6% during 2015-2025.
Demand for acid-based biostimulants is higher than acid-based- and extract-based biostimulants, owing to easy availability of raw materials and higher efficiency. Biostimulants containing Vitamin B, chitin and chitosan are expected to gain traction during the forecast period.
Western Europe is the largest market for biostimulants, accounting for over 30% market value share in 2014. Focus on enhancing yield per hectare coupled with government support are the key factors propelling the growth of the market in the region.
Asia Pacific Excluding Japan is emerging as a lucrative market for biostimulants. The agriculture sector in the region is witnessing a shift from traditional farming practices to use of technology and additives, owing to which biostimulants are expected to gain traction in the next decade.
Acadian Seaplants Limited, Biostadt India Limited, Omex Agrifluids Ltd., Italpollina Spa, Koppert B.V., BioAtlantis Ltd., Micromix Plant Health Limited, Trade Corporation International, Valagro S.p.A, Isagro S.p.A, Platform Specialty Products Corporation, BASF SE, Novozymes A/S, Agrinos A/S and The Dow Chemical Company.

Demand for biostimulants is expected to surpass US$ 4 billion in revenues, according to a new research report by Future Market Insights (FMI). The report titled, “Biostimulants Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015-2025” forecasts the demand for biostimulants to expand at a CAGR of nearly 11% through 2025.
Biostimulants are finding increasing application in the agriculture sector owing to their environmentally-friendly and organic nature. Rising food demand is putting pressure on land and focus has shifted to enhancing the yield per hectare.
“Governments around the world are speeding up efforts to boost agricultural production. Use of biostimulants is being encouraged to improve the overall output, and this is expected to fuel demand in the near future”, said the FMI analyst who compiled the report.
Although FMI expects the demand for biostimulants to expand at a robust pace during the forecast period 2015-2025, certain factors can impede growth. “Lack of standardisation and slow pace of innovation are the key restraining factors for the global biostimulants market.”
Biostimulants are used in foliar, seed, and soil; among these, use of biostimulants is highest in the foliar segment, accounting for nearly one-third market share in 2014. On the basis of crop type, use of biostimulants is predominant in row crops, and fruits and vegetables. Application of biostimulants in turf and ornamental is at a nascent stage currently. FMI forecasts the turf and ornamental segment to expand at a CAGR of over 6% during 2015-2025.
Demand for acid-based biostimulants is higher than acid-based- and extract-based biostimulants, owing to easy availability of raw materials and higher efficiency. Biostimulants containing Vitamin B, chitin and chitosan are expected to gain traction during the forecast period.
Western Europe is the largest market for biostimulants, accounting for over 30% market value share in 2014. Focus on enhancing yield per hectare coupled with government support are the key factors propelling the growth of the market in the region.
Asia Pacific Excluding Japan is emerging as a lucrative market for biostimulants. The agriculture sector in the region is witnessing a shift from traditional farming practices to use of technology and additives, owing to which biostimulants are expected to gain traction in the next decade.
Acadian Seaplants Limited, Biostadt India Limited, Omex Agrifluids Ltd., Italpollina Spa, Koppert B.V., BioAtlantis Ltd., Micromix Plant Health Limited, Trade Corporation International, Valagro S.p.A, Isagro S.p.A, Platform Specialty Products Corporation, BASF SE, Novozymes A/S, Agrinos A/S and The Dow Chemical Company.

'Hamlin' sweet orange trees on 'Carrizo' citrange and 'Swingle' citrumelo rootstocks were treated weekly with a commercial extract of the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum at 5 and 10 mL[1]L-1 as either a soil drench or foliar spray. Half of the trees in each treatment were subjected to drought stress [irrigated at 50% of evapotranspiration (ET)], whereas the other half remained fully irrigated (100% ET). Drought stress reduced shoot growth and leaf photosynthesis but increased root and total plant growth relative to the amount of water applied, thus increasing whole plant water use efficiency. Trees treated with seaweed extract and drought-stressed had significantly more total growth than untreated drought-stressed trees for both rootstocks. The maintenance of growth by the seaweed extract under drought stress conditions was unrelated to photosynthesis. However, the seaweed extract treatment did have a significant effect on plant water relations. Soil drench-treated trees had more growth and higher stem water potential than foliar-treated or control trees after 8 weeks of drought stress. These results indicate that seaweed extract may be a useful tool for improving drought stress tolerance of container-grown citrus trees.

Thrips cause damage to vegetables, fruits, and flowers and are found worldwide. They directly damage crops by feeding, vectoring viruses, and may also cause respiratory and skin irritation to field workers. Effectively managing thrips and mites with non-toxic materials has proven to be one of the most challenging aspects of pest control. A commercial extract from the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum, reduced avocado thrips (Scirtothrips perseae) numbers by 68% compared to the control, in field-grown 'Hass' avocado trees. This reduction in thrips number was not significantly different from reduction due to abamectin treatment; the most common chemical control for thrips in avocados. In addition, there were 87% fewer colonies of Persea mites (Oligonychus perseae) per leaf in the A. nodosum extract (ANE)-treated trees compared to the control and the ANE-treatment was not significantly different from the abamectin standard. The following year there was no thrips pressure due to environmental conditions, however, ANE extract again reduced Persea mite colonies compared to the control. ANE extract applications resulted in significantly fewer thrips nymphs and Persea mite colonies on avocados under light pest pressure.

Millions of years ago something happened, allowing early Homo sapiens to branch out from the primitive hominoid family tree. Was this crucial turn in human evolution partly driven by seaweed and its particular content of essential nutrients?
Over the past 2.5 - 2 million years human brains have gone through the most significant development, and as a result modern-day humans are left with an organ that is the source of all the qualities that define humanity.
Our ancestors needed lots of energy-rich foods just to get by, and for this impressive, significant brain development they also needed certain essential nutrients.
Without nutrients like magnesium and zinc modern brains cannot function, and according to a number of scientific studies it is likely that the access to certain essential nutrients influenced the evolution of the human brain so that it could become the brain we have today.
- Nutrients needed for this transition from a primitive ancestor to modern Homo sapiens were (and still are) available in seaweeds. Seaweeds could be found and harvested in abundance on shores, and for a foraging lifestyle, a rich coastal environment would be a significant source of a consistent supply of these nutrients, says Professor Ole G. Mouritsen, University of Southern Denmark.
Professor Mouritsen is an expert in molecular biophysics and author of several books about food science.
He is co-author of a newly published review in Journal of Applied Phycology on research highlighting the potential impact of the consumption of a variety of seaweeds (so-called large marine algae, or macroalgae) in human brain health, including benefits to early Homo sapiens.
Other contributors to the review are Melania Lynn Cornish and Alan T. Critchley, Acadian Seaplants, Canada.
In their article the authors note that the human lineage is estimated to have diverged from our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees, around 5-7 million years ago.
- However, the changing patterns of resource distribution associated with the extensive drying and expansion of the African savannahs between 2.5 and 2 million years ago have been the impetus for a shift in foraging behavior among early members of the genus Homo. Foraging over longer distances for food would have contributed to bipedalism and a different body stature as increasingly larger ranges had to be traversed, and in the case of our primitive ancestors, this would undoubtedly lead to significant changes in diet, the authors write.
Coastal areas may very well have attracted early hominoids in search of food.
- Our ancestors would find foods like fish, crustaceans, snails, seaweeds, bird eggs and perhaps occasional dead marine vertebrates. But they probably did not have the necessary rudimental understanding of seasonal tidal cycles and their influence on shellfish availability. Seaweeds of different types, on the other hands, can be found all across the intertidal zone from the high water mark to the subtidal regions and they could be readily and repeatedly harvested for food by all family members, including women and children, the authors state.
The nutrients in seaweed not only benefitted our ancestors.
- Seaweed is just as healthy and nutritious for humans today as it was millions of years ago, says Professor Ole G. Mouritsen.
Taurine. Can be found in red algae, marine fish, shellfish and meat of mammals. Is present in large amounts in the central nervous system and in the retina. The highest concentrations occur in the developing brain. Levels in adults are app. 1/3 of those of newborns.
Magnesium. Can be found in legumes, pumpkin and squash seeds, nuts and macroalgae. It plays an important role in neuroprotection and cognition. Important for the ability to store new information in neural networks.
Zinc. Can be found in many foods but is particularly plentiful in various cuts of meat, especially liver. Extremely abundant in oysters. Crustaceans and most seaweeds are also robust sources. Plays an important role in learning, development and memory.
Vitamin B12. Is found exclusively in animal products such as meat, eggs, fish and milk - with one exception: it is also confirmed in Pyropia species of seaweeds and it is quite likely in others that have yet to be adequately analyzed. B12 is important for blood flow in the brain and cognitive functions like language.
Iodine. Found abundantly in seaweed, especially in brown seaweeds. A necessary element for the synthesis of thyroid hormones, which are essential for central nervous system development.
Poly-unsaturated fatty-acids (PUFAs). The original sources of PUFAs are not, as often thought, fish and shellfish, but micro- and macroalgae like seaweed.
Ref: Consumption of seaweeds and the human brain. Journal of Applied Phycology · January 2017, DOI: 10.1007/s10811-016-1049-3.